How to build strategic partnerships with financial institutions

By Dennis Clemente

How can financial innovators build strategic partnerships with financial institutions?

PayPerks is one who has made headways in the financial space. CEO Arlyn Davich spoke about it at the Financial Services Innovation meetup last September 8 at WeWorks in Wall St.

Davich’s PayPerks lets you earn points for just learning about and using your prepaid card. It has tutorials and surveys that claim to help you understand the ins and outs of your prepaid card, so you can avoid fees, save time and keep your money safe and secure.

What’s the pull? Each point earned is a chance to win a cash prize in its free monthly sweepstakes. It has reportedly given away over $60,000 in prizes in its monthly sweepstakes.
Based on what Davich has done, it’s all about complementing your business with the big financial institutions, and certainly not about disrupting them.

Aside from Davich, guests from JP Morgan Chase, Ideas42 and Bee’s Max Gasner were also in attendance to discuss the challenges, opportunities and future of financial services:

• The biggest barrier in financial services is regulation and bringing people (together) to understand regulation
• How do you integrate product into a person’s life? It should serve a purpose seamlessly
• Build trust among users by engaging with them
• Changing old banking mindsets and programs is important
• It’s fundamental not to patronize people, not to talk down on people
• It is much more about talking to people. You have to understand (what you’re talking about). You have to integrate with a big bank
• There has to a be a change in how funding is done
• Credibility is very important
• Going to meetups helps